Director Brian Percival Exits AMC Pilot ‘Knifeman’

AMC Studios is looking for a new director to helm AMC drama pilot Knifeman after The Book Thief director Brian Percival, tapped for the job in March, had to pull out for personal reasons. Based on Wendy Moore’s John Hunter biography The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching And The Birth Of Modern Surgery, Knifeman centers on a charming, arrogant surgeon who robs graves and harvests organs in 18th century London. Rolin Jones wrote the pilot, which he developed with Ron Fitzgerald; both exec produce. Percival won an Emmy for directing the pilot episode of hit period British drama Downton Abbey.